Helping the environment during that time of the month

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Are there environmentally friendly alternatives to
tampons and sanitary pads? Women of ancient cultures couldn’t buy feminine
hygiene products at the supermarket or drugstore chain, so they improvised,
fashioning them instead of various natural and biodegradable materials
— from papyrus and wool to grasses and vegetable fibers. Modern
women, however, have relied on a variety of disposable products that create
significant after-use waste and can also be dangerous to their health. A typical American woman will use — and discard
— as many as 16,000 tampons and their applicators over the course of
her lifetime. The numbers for disposable sanitary pads run about twice as
high. A 1998 study conducted by waste consultant Franklin Associates
concluded that 6.5 billion tampons and 13.5 billion sanitary pads, plus
their packaging, were ending up in U.S. landfills or sewer systems each
year. Meanwhile, volunteers from the non-profit Ocean Conservancy collected
more than 170,000 tampon applicators along American coastlines during a
study conducted over a two-year period in 1998 and 1999. On the health front, the sterile look of feminine
hygiene products does not betray the fact that the chlorine dioxide used to
whiten them can “theoretically generate dioxins at extremely low
levels,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although
the chlorine bleaching of tampons and pads has become considerably safer
since the early 1990s, before which the process released some 250 different
organochlorines into the environment and delivered a product laden with
dioxin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that no safe level
for dioxin exposure exists. Dioxin is 10 times more likely to cause cancer than
was believed in 1994, says the EPA, and a lifetime of exposure to tampons,
in particular, can mean a significant accumulation of toxins in a
woman’s body and many noncancer effects, including birth defects and
developmental delays. Additionally, tampons, because they interrupt the
natural flow of blood, can facilitate bacterial growth and cause infection.
To address both the health and environmental issues
associated with feminine products, a number of innovative companies offer
alternatives. GladRags, Natracare, Lunapads, Many Moons, and Pandora Pads
all make cotton pads and other reusable products free of toxic substances.
Jade and Pearl shapes natural sea sponges to fit a woman’s body,
absorbing flow and likewise steering customers away from throwaway products
made of bleached synthetic fibers. “The Keeper” is a reusable rubber
cup designed to catch menstrual flow; its maker also sells a silicone
version called the “Moon Cup” for those who are sensitive to
rubber. Such products can last as long as 10 years before needing
replacement and are approved by the U.S. FDA and Health Canada. Many of
these healthier and environmentally friendly (and less costly) alternative
products are available online, as well as on the shelves of natural foods
markets across North America. For more information:
GladRags, www.gladrags.com; Natracare, www.natracare.com; Lunapads,
www.lunapads.com; Many Moons Alternatives, www.manymoonsalternatives.com;
Pandora Pads, www.pandorapads.com; the Keeper, www.keeper.com; Jade and
Pearl, www.jadeandpearl.com. Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.